Heavyweight division 'will enjoy rebirth' after Klitschkos retire
As Tor Hamer prepares to take on Andy Ruiz on the Clash in Cotai undercard, the American fighter looks forward to the era after the dominance of the Ukrainian brothers
The heavyweight division needs the Klitschko brothers to retire before it can regain its glamour, says American fighter Tor Hamer.
Vitali Klitschko, 42, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion and younger brother Vladimir, 38, the World Boxing Association (WBA) champion have dominated the division for years and no American fighter has been able to match the pair. Expect another year before it gets interesting, says Hamer.
Hamer, who will fight fellow American heavyweight Andy Ruiz on the undercard of Clash of Cotai on Sunday, said it “wasn’t the fault of the Klitschkos’ that the heavyweight division is experiencing its lowest ebb in a decade.
There has been little interest in the division since the retirements of big drawcards such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. Instead, attention is moving towards the lower welterweight class, where Philippines icon Manny Pacquiao and American Floyd Mayweather Jnr are superstars and are easily the biggest earners in the sport.
“The key players in the [heavyweight] division aren’t as important to the consumer as Manny Pacquiao is. There is no American heavyweight doing the kind of things the Klitschkos are doing,” says Penn State-educated Hamer, 30, at the Venetian.
“If you look at the division from the American viewpoint, they don’t find them [the Klitschkos] interesting. They are not very exciting fighters. They are not destroying people like Tyson was years ago. While the Klitschkos are dominating, they are not fun to watch.
“They don’t knock guys down within two rounds. They are not big trash talkers. They are both educated fighters. One has a doctorate, the other one is involved in politics. You know they don’t have the nation appeal that you would have with Mayweather, who is in your face all the time,” says the New Yorker (21-2, 14 KOs).
